Life for Lone Family in Syrian Town

The Last Family Left

Ahmed Kale, right, walks with his men to the frontline on the outskirts of Kfar Lata, Syria on Oct. 3, 2013. Earlier this year, Kfar Lata had some 10,000 inhabitants, mostly rural farmers who built concrete homes out of the soil with carefully stashed money, turning a once-tiny hamlet into a small backwater town.

AP Photo

The Last Family Left

Ahmed Kale, right, walks with his men to the frontline on the outskirts of Kfar Lata, Syria on Oct. 3, 2013. Earlier this year, Kfar Lata had some 10,000 inhabitants, mostly rural farmers who built concrete homes out of the soil with carefully stashed money, turning a once-tiny hamlet into a small backwater town.

AP Photo

The Last Family Left

A granddaughter of Mohammed Kale reacts to the buzz of stray bullets overhead as she as she pushes water from the roof of her family house in Kfar Lata, a ghost village at the top of a mountain in the Idlib province countryside of Syria, Oct. 3, 2013.

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The Last Family Left

A woman, center, sees off her husband Ahmed, second left, as he and his comrades leave for the frontline in Kfar Lata, Syria on Oct. 3, 2013.

AP Photo

The Last Family Left

Smoke rises after a mortar shell hits a rebel position during clashes in Kfar Lata, Syria on Oct. 3, 2013. The town is one of many ghost villages dotting the Syrian countryside, abandoned by residents and ravaged as soldiers and rebels spread through the area in roving battles.

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The Last Family Left

Sons of Mohammed Kale rebuild a house wall damaged by a mortar shell that landed days before at their family house in Kfar Lata, Syria on Oct. 3, 2013. The village is at the top of a mountain subdued under heavy shelling and bombardments due the fighting between opposition fighters and government forces.

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The Last Family Left

Ahmed Kale, left, prepares his men for the frontline in Kfar Lata, Syria on Oct. 3, 2013. The men want to stay back and fight for the mostly empty town.

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The Last Family Left

Mohammed Kale sits with his family at home in Kfar Lata, Syria on Oct. 3, 2013. Their elder patriarch, 65-year-old Mohammed Kale, fears they will suffer in moving, penniless, from their home, even though the town is largely abandoned.

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The Last Family Left

The daughter-in-law of Mohammed Kale comes to the door entrance to see off her husband, Ahmed, as he leaves for the frontline in Kfar Lata, Syria on Oct. 3, 2013.

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The Last Family Left

Mohammed Kale sits with his grandchildren as they take a lunch meal at their family house in Kfar Lata, Syria on Oct. 3, 2013. The sprawling, three-generation family of Mohammed Kale refuses to leave their home; a boxy, multi-story concrete apartment that holds the entire family.

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The Last Family Left

A hand grenade is seen among flowers at the house entrance of Mohammed Kale in this Oct. 3, 2013 photo.

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The Last Family Left

The grandchildren of Mohammed Kale play in a swing at their family house in Kfar Lata. Syria on Oct. 3, 2013.

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The Last Family Left

Ahmed Kale chops wood with his daughter to make fire for cooking outside his family house in Kfar Lata, Syria on Oct, 3, 2013.

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The Last Family Left

Opposition fighter Ahmed Kale, center, and his comrades mount guard at the frontline on the outskirts of Kfar Lata, Syria on Oct. 3, 2013.

AP Photo

The Last Family Left

Opposition fighters mount guard at the frontline on the outskirts of Kfar Lata, Syria on Oct. 3, 2013.

AP Photo

The Last Family Left

Opposition fighters, sons of Mohammed Kale, walk at the frontline on Oct. 3, 2013 on the outskirts of Kfar Lata, Syria, a ghost village atop of a mountain subdued under heavy shelling and bombardments due to the fighting between opposition fighters and government forces in the Idlib province countryside of Syria.